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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29826693">living under a paper moon</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/britcombebbe/pseuds/britcombebbe'>britcombebbe</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>vampire au [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>British Comedy RPF, Taskmaster (UK TV) RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>I’m bad at tags, M/M, Misunderstandings, Vampires</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 20:35:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,138</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29826693</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/britcombebbe/pseuds/britcombebbe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It was only a matter of time until Greg found out about Alex’s...differences.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alex Horne &amp; Mark Watson, Alex Horne/Mark Watson, Greg Davies &amp; Alex Horne, Greg Davies/Alex Horne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>vampire au [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2191101</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>living under a paper moon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>title might change of i find a more apt one (current title from all time low)</p>
<p>also maybe i should’ve spaced these out more haha oops</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Out of the two of them, it would only be natural to assume that Greg was the dangerous one. If an outsider had heard a scream from the darkened alley that the two men currently inhabited, they would likely have rushed to Alex’s aid, instinctively assuming that his considerably shorter and weedier frame indicated weakness. And this, Greg concluded, was the crux of the whole issue.</p>
<p>He remembered the day he had discovered what Alex referred to as his ‘physiological difference’ as though it were nothing but a mere quirk.</p><hr/>
<p>They’d just wrapped up the penultimate day of filming the studio shows for series 5 of Taskmaster, and Greg had headed out to a nearby coffee shop to clear his head and maybe get a drink to bring back to Alex. It was nice to take a minute to stop being The Taskmaster and just be himself. He paused outside the venue, giving himself one more moment of peace before returning to what was likely to be a (depressingly) empty space, devoid of the chaos that the team of contestants brought.</p>
<p>Given that it was likely that only Alex and the maintenance crew remained in the building, Greg was more than a little surprised to discover that his assistant was still in his dressing room with the door locked - usually by this point he’d be waiting in The Taskmaster’s throne, a cheeky smile on his face.</p>
<p>That was when he heard what sounded like a pained whimper from inside the locked room and immediately felt his protective instincts kicking in. “Alex?” A couple of beats passed. “Alex, I’m coming in!” He heard a faint gargling sound in response, and without a second thought, kicked the door in. The adrenaline rushing through his system was dizzying and unpleasant, but what he saw felt even worse.</p>
<p>For some reason, it was the bloodstain on the old and slightly faded sofa that he focused on first. Not the seemingly unconscious man in the arms of one of his closest friends, or what appeared to be taking place, just the slight damage to the upholstery of furniture that had been somewhere in the building for years. He wanted nothing more than to leave, and yet fear had him paralysed, frozen on the spot, while Alex wiped the blood from his lips.</p>
<p>“I- Greg, please. I can explain. I haven’t hurt him, not really, I promise.” Alex moved to stand, presumably to try and explain what Greg had seen, and that action finally allowed the older man to move from his spot. Within seconds, Greg was out of the building, unable to face what he’d seen.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once Greg was home with a steadying drink of whiskey, he allowed himself to check his phone. Anyone else would have likely blown up his phone, and yet Alex had sent only one text.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong>‘Call me when you’re ready.’</strong>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>“Fuck.” Greg took a deep breath as he typed out a response, mind swimming as he tried to think of what he needed to establish immediately, and what could wait until after they had more time together.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong>‘Ready when you are.’</strong>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>Within seconds of sending the message, his phone screen lit with the request to FaceTime, and it was with shaking hands that Greg accepted the call.</p>
<p>It was refreshing in a way, seeing Alex look almost exactly the way he had a day prior. Back before whatever the fuck it was that Greg had witnessed earlier. “Is Mark okay?” It had only been in the car, driving home that he’d finally realised who’d been with Alex, the realisation sending tingles down his spine.</p>
<p>“I’d never hurt Mark. What you saw earlier was completely consensual, we have... an<em> arrangement </em>of sorts? It’s complicated, but getting it straight from the source is so much healthier than the bagged stuff. He insists on it whenever it’s physically possible.” Alex paused to allow his words to sink in, for Greg to wrap his head around the implications of his statements.</p>
<p>“Okay. I hear you, Alex, But I’d still like some clarification: What the fuck <em>did</em> I see?” The words are out before Greg has time to really consider what he wants to say. Alex looks a little shifty now, his general demeanour revealing the nerves that he’s attempting to hide.</p>
<p>“You just want me to—to say it?” Alex’s voice sounds remarkably normal considering the situation, his face carefully neutral - in itself a sign that this is serious. That Alex is struggling to verbalise what he needs to say reveals more about the situation than it should. Greg nods, wishing he was there to comfort Alex, even though he knows it’s incredibly likely he would be unable to truly take care of his boy while he’s kept in the dark about whatever it is that’s going on.</p>
<p>“Okay. I’m a vampire.”</p>
<p>The slight crackling static of a video call in combination with the ticking of a clock from somewhere in Alex’s office is the only audible sound, until.</p>
<p>“Alex?”</p>
<p>“Yes?”</p>
<p>“You’re not genuinely trying to tell me that you’re a fucking <em>vampire</em>, are you?”</p>
<p>The continued silence provides Greg with an answer, Which really just leaves him with more questions, Before he can even get his thoughts in order and figure out what to say next, Alex starts talking at what should be an inhuman speed.</p>
<p>“Obviously, we have to wrap up this series. At the moment, we’re not contractually obliged to film anything new, so once we’re done tomorrow, I’ll have the necessary paperwork sent to you, and—“</p>
<p>“Alex.” As soon as Greg speaks, Alex stops, gnawing the inside of his own cheek in what appears to be an overly vicious manner. “Alex, shut up. I’m in shock. I’m not about to pretend that this is an easy thing to find out, and I do want to talk to Mark, just to be sure that everything’s okay. However, as far as I’m concerned, that’s as much as I need to know right now. We will need to talk about this, I just think that now might not be the best time.” Greg tries to project the calm but authoritative air that Alex usually needs, although he’s not quite sure that he pulls it off. “Thank you.”</p>
<p>With those two words, Greg watches as his phone screen flashes for a second and returns to the same text he’d seen before. Except now those words didn’t feel half as scary. Sure, he still had plenty of questions, he’d probably be trying to figure all of this out for months. But Alex was, at the end of the day, still just Alex, and if whatever he had going on with Mark had been going on for as long as it seemed, then maybe this was the only Alex that Greg had ever known.</p><hr/>
<p> </p>
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